OT: The Avalounge but every time someone posts the quality declines

[LieutenantDangle]

Anybody have some major pro tips for someone starting to go to the gym regularly?

Start small. If you go balls to the wall before your body is used to the stresses you will damage your health instead of enhance it. Low number of sets and basic exercises (bench press, deadlift, squats, lat pull downs, etc) for the first couple weeks (2-3 workouts per week) until your muscles have adapted to the stress before jumping into a full regimen. Also make sure to dedicate time to a warm up and cool down (stretching and walking a couple laps). Recovery is also crucial. Get plenty of sleep and a balanced diet

 

[UncleRisto]

Anybody have some major pro tips for someone starting to go to the gym regularly?

I can help as well, if you elaborate. Eddie knows nothing about this.

 

[henchman21]

Beer curls are the most effective form of exercise.

 

[Foppberg]

I can help as well, if you elaborate. Eddie knows nothing about this.

What are you wondering exactly. I can definitely help you out.

Just like things you wish you knew going into it, or 'tricks of the trade' so to speak.

 

[UncleRisto]

Beer curls are the most effective form of exercise.

After cheese curls.

 

[hockeyfish]

Beer curls are the most effective form of exercise.

Yes, however I also advocate a mix of exercises. Try adding in fridge sprints, nacho dips, and perhaps a few shot shots.

 

[UncleRisto]

Just like things you wish you knew going into it, or 'tricks of the trade' so to speak.

What kind of base are you on, and what are you trying to achieve?

 

[Foppberg]

What kind of base are you on, and what are you trying to achieve?

Never really worked out in my life before. Always played sports and stuff like that so I stayed in shape that way, so not much of a base I suppose. Thin, not much muscle mass.

Generally just trying to get in good overall shape, put on some mass but not looking to become Hulk Hogan.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Just like things you wish you knew going into it, or 'tricks of the trade' so to speak.

Working out is about 1/3rd of your gain. Rest and diet make up the other two thirds.

Change your routine often. Your muscles get used to specific movements.

You will plateau and don't let it discourage you. If you go consistently for a few months you're going to feel like a new person. Muscles will feel like they're growing every day. Eventually it will feel like months will go by before you notice the changes you once experienced in a week. That's okay and completely normal.

Don't be scared to ask questions. If you have a particular gym you'll go to you'll eventually get to know most people there. There will be douchebags, but most people there will be easy to speak with and started out at some point just like you. If you see them doing something interesting, ask then what they're doing and what body part it works out. Do your research to make sure it's safe and if it seems like a good excercise after research, give it a shot. If you feel uncomfortable doing some excercises, ask someone if you're doing it right.

Don't be a hero. Start off with comfortable weight. Don't use other body parts to help a specific excercise just so you can lift more weight. For example don't do 60lb dumbbell curls where you swing your whole body just to get it up. Do a weight that you are comfortable with so that you can do a proper movement. A 30lb, slow clean rep is better than a 60lb cheating rep.

 

[UncleRisto]

Never really worked out in my life before. Always played sports and stuff like that so I stayed in shape that way, so not much of a base I suppose. Thin, not much muscle mass.

Generally just trying to get in good overall shape, put on some mass but not looking to become Hulk Hogan.

Oh good, I'm a lightweight so I'm better off helping with this. First of all, if you're thin, you wanna be eating a lot, and obviously eating healthy with a lot of protein. I struggle with gaining weight a lot, and if it's not extra calories you're turning into muscle, you'll just end up toning your muscles - which is better than nothing, but mass gains will be difficult to achieve.

You wanna start light and work your way up the weights. It's crucial to know proper techniques and if you start with too much weight, maintaining proper technique will be impossible even if you know it. Just don't hesitate to move on from lighter weights once you get going. There's a lot of guys at the gym I go to, who could obviously lift more weight if they weren't stuck with their baby weights. So start slow but try to progress when it gets comfortable.

You should look for free weights (barbell, dumbells) and compound movements like squats etc., mostly, instead of working with machines. Those are for isolation and you don't need that when you're starting out. Something like the Golden Six might be good for starters, because it gets you acclimated and builds strength upfront, but after a while you should move away from it.

 

[S E P H]

Never really worked out in my life before. Always played sports and stuff like that so I stayed in shape that way, so not much of a base I suppose. Thin, not much muscle mass.

Generally just trying to get in good overall shape, put on some mass but not looking to become Hulk Hogan.

Kento is absolutely right about plateauing, that is insanely important to remember. It seems you want a Tennis player's body? Lean, but solid? Just Google the exercises they preform in the gym. Remember that there are two types of weightlifting: more weight with less reps equals more muscle mass or less weight with more reps equals getting that part of the body leaner. You need to find your own personal comfort zone when it comes to weight's and as Kento said, eating is a big factor. Some people I know worked out and drank protein shakes the whole time making them fat. I am not against protein shakes in the slightest, but make sure you do enough work to deserve one because majority of people don't.

Also don't sit after a work out on the couch and decide to put bread in your mouth with peanut butter, that is against the rules of working out as well. Just do a protein diet as Risto said above (which you can also Google online). Also as others said, Rome wasn't built in a day, so neither was your body. That dude who can dead-lift 500 lbs couldn't do that weight six months ago, everyone is on their own path. Elway would be a really good poster to tell you more of the detail tips because he's becoming one of those body fit guys that go to the competitions, but the brah doesn't post anymore.

 

[ABasin]

Anybody have some major pro tips for someone starting to go to the gym regularly?

It depends on what your goals are, but it's good to do a mix of strength/resistance training, along with cardio get-your-heart-rate-up training. I personally do 6 days a week (3 days a week of each), around 90 minutes per day. That typically works out to 60-75 minutes of actual lifting or actual cardio, then 15-30 minutes of abs/core + stretching.

As several people have said, start out moderately, then increase the intensity and duration of the workouts. You're probably in for a tough/sore few weeks at the outset, but don't let that discourage you. It won't feel like it for a couple dozen days, but your body will in fact adapt. Your body will get used to the new workouts, and it'll get much, much better in month 2. Then, you'll take off in terms of weight improvement, strength, endurance, etc. As you begin to work your muscles in ways you haven't before, it's good to get into the habit of regularly stretching. I know there are a number of theories on this front, but I'm not a fan of stretching cold muscles, so I always stretch at the end of my workout.

Most gyms have bootcamp-type workouts that I think are awesome. They're usually a mix of strength-cardio, and I find that when I use machines, I simply cannot get my heartrate up as high as those classes get it, short of running the steps at Red Rocks or something. The treadmills and stairmasters are fine and all, but there are better ways to get an awesome cardio workout in. Getting your heartrate up a few times a week is important.

As others have said, don't be shy about asking questions of those in the gym who obviously know what they're doing. Most people are willing to help.

Finally, take the long view. A lot of people join a gym and start working out, thinking that they're going to get easy/immediate results in a week or two or something. If you dedicate yourself to it for 6 months, you'll absolutely feel the difference, and quite likely see it as well.

 

[S E P H]

They're usually a mix of strength-cardio, and I find that when I use machines, I simply cannot get my heartrate up as high as those classes get it, short of running the steps at Red Rocks or something.

Finally, take the long view. A lot of people join a gym and start working out, thinking that they're going to get easy/immediate results in a week or two or something. If you dedicate yourself to it for 6 months, you'll absolutely feel the difference, and quite likely see it as well.

AB, try riding those bicycle machines with high resistance. My friend made me do that and to the point you think you're peddling through tar, you get your heart pumping quite easily. You gotta start off with a low/none resistance and then work your way up for like a 15 minute peddle ride. I'm actually thinking of buying a Fitbit Ionic watch, since it is water resistant and I really want to work out in water more like doing laps and things like that.

Agreed about the long view, some of my friends always tell me that they plan on working out and I always tell them that consistency to the gym trumps anything else. And I always see them quitting after the first or second month.

 

[Foppberg]

Damn guys, didn't expect so many lengthy responses appreciated! I'll get around to reading them all in a bit but one question I do have that I thought of is what's everyone's opinion on protein shakes/powder? Seeing as I'm still a student on a bit of a budget I don't have an abundance of money to spend.

 

[UncleRisto]

I'd say that if you don't have fat to burn, and you're striving for muscle mass, I would be careful about doing too much cardio. If you already do rec sports or something, a bunch of running on top is going to slow you down. What I'm saying is, if you go on a short jog or two per week, that's fine, in fact do that or a few hours of rec sports. But don't expect to work on cardio results and muscle mass at the same time unless you eat like a mad man.

 

[not a troll]

Damn guys, didn't expect so many lengthy responses appreciated! I'll get around to reading them all in a bit but one question I do have that I thought of is what's everyone's opinion on protein shakes/powder? Seeing as I'm still a student on a bit of a budget I don't have an abundance of money to spend.

I think most of the fart powder out in the market is a sham along with all the supplements you're bombarded with all over the internet. If you're not able to shell out money for something like ON then just buy chicken thighs, or breasts but I prefer thighs for taste and ease of cooking, and grill them.

 

[UncleRisto]

Damn guys, didn't expect so many lengthy responses appreciated! I'll get around to reading them all in a bit but one question I do have that I thought of is what's everyone's opinion on protein shakes/powder? Seeing as I'm still a student on a bit of a budget I don't have an abundance of money to spend.

It depends on the rest of your diet. But if you're on a "college student diet" at all, whey protein powder will help.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I see people talking about protein and they're definitely right. Get your protein. But don't be scared of carbs. Especially since you're thin. Everything you hear is that "carbs are the enemy". It's true that cutting them can help lose weight. In fact you can cut them out so much that your body uses fat as energy as opposed to carbs (Keto). But for you, I recommend getting your carbs and don't be scared of intake at all. If you start noticing some belly fat or anything like that it's time to re-access, but Carbohydrates are very important to building muscle and a lot of people don't realize that. So until you need to worry about gaining "bad" weight, get your carbs, fats and protein and you will grow a lot faster.

 

[UncleRisto]

I see people talking about protein and they're definitely right. Get your protein. But don't be scared of carbs. Especially since you're thin. Everything you hear is that "carbs are the enemy". It's true that cutting them can help lose weight. In fact you can cut them out so much that your body uses fat as energy as opposed to carbs (Keto). But for you, I recommend getting your carbs and don't be scared of intake at all. If you start noticing some belly fat or anything like that it's time to re-access, but Carbohydrates are very important to building muscle and a lot of people don't realize that. So until you need to worry about gaining "bad" weight, get your carbs, fats and protein and you will grow a lot faster.

I definitely agree. The internet is full of those chicken, eggs and broccoli "bodybuilder diets" where there's four meals of chicken breast, but calories are calories.

I would advice to select slow carbs though. (Although that isn't important here either, if you're thin, it's just healthier.)

 

[RockLobster]

I've talked about this with Henchy in private, but given the prolonged conversation in here, I'll join in:

When my fiancee and I split in July, I stopped eating a lot of the junk food I used to keep in the apartment, and made a hard switch to drinking diet soda (if I'm drinking soda at all). I slowly incorporated different vegetables into my diet, where I now typically enjoy eating spinach and steamed broccoli with my entree.

On January 3rd I joined the YMCA here in Wichita, went for the first time on January 4th, and have been every day since then, primarily doing 35-50 minute exercises on an elliptical or cycling machine.

Since July I am down 43 lbs. I've got a long way to go before I hit my target weight, but I've already cleared my first benchmark and am in general having fun going.

Everyone is different, and will achieve results in a different way. For me, my key has been regulating my caloric intake in combination with exercising enough to burn off calories. On top of that, developing the will power to tell myself "NO!" when I sometimes want to cheat myself and have something like pizza or honey-BBQ wings (of which I *really* want some right now). I still have a lot to learn when it comes to what foods are good and bad for me, especially because I have a decent amount of belly fat that I'd like to GET RID OF, lol.

But @Foppberg it's great that you're wanting to start this. Please know you can always lean on this group here for encouragement. I know that despite what the scales are telling me, I haven't necessarily felt like I've *seen* the results. It was actually my sister-in-law and the girl I'm trying to start dating telling me, unprompted, that my progress is showing.

So keep it up man!

 

[UncleRisto]

Great job RL, keep it up!

I recently started a "clean" diet. Avoiding processed sugars, eating whole foods. Really liking the variety in food, but what it takes is a little bit of effort in the kitchen. It's good to move on from the ice cream and chicken nuggets, which I'll miss when I'm hungry.

Really gotta chow down so I don't lose weight too.

 

[S E P H]

I've talked about this with Henchy in private, but given the prolonged conversation in here, I'll join in:

When my fiancee and I split in July, I stopped eating a lot of the junk food I used to keep in the apartment, and made a hard switch to drinking diet soda (if I'm drinking soda at all). I slowly incorporated different vegetables into my diet, where I now typically enjoy eating spinach and steamed broccoli with my entree.

On January 3rd I joined the YMCA here in Wichita, went for the first time on January 4th, and have been every day since then, primarily doing 35-50 minute exercises on an elliptical or cycling machine.

Since July I am down 43 lbs. I've got a long way to go before I hit my target weight, but I've already cleared my first benchmark and am in general having fun going.

Everyone is different, and will achieve results in a different way. For me, my key has been regulating my caloric intake in combination with exercising enough to burn off calories. On top of that, developing the will power to tell myself "NO!" when I sometimes want to cheat myself and have something like pizza or honey-BBQ wings (of which I *really* want some right now). I still have a lot to learn when it comes to what foods are good and bad for me, especially because I have a decent amount of belly fat that I'd like to GET RID OF, lol.

Awesome job RL, if I have any recommendations for your next step, start making breakfast smoothies and incorporating a lot of green leaf vegetables into them. So for example, buy the sweet stuff such as blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and whatever. Add those in, add in ice instead of yogurt, but I am not against Greek yogurt (people are wide different when it comes to dairy), a bit of honey, and kale/swiss chard/collard greens. Mix that up and you get a healthy smoothie. Additionally, you can go to places like Mod Pizza, grab the gluten-free crust and top it with spinach (or other green veggies), peppers, one kind of cheese, and grilled chicken (no sausage/pepperoni/other meats). That is for a tasty bite.

As for other food, I think you have BBQ wings, but instead of getting the deep-fried version or the thigh meat of the chicken, grill/bake chicken breasts, dose it with honey-BBQ sauce, and have a kale salad as a side. Green leaf veggies as the ones I list above have an insane amount of beneficial factors such as heart boosting molecules, antioxidants, cancer solving compounds, and natural anti-inflammatory/pain relief vitamins such as K. Add Bok Choy to that list and make yourself some good stir-fry as well. Remember though, is you don't really want to cook these guys too long or at all, heat destroys stuff like bacteria and viruses, but it also destroys the molecular structure of those healthy compounds as well.

 

[UncleRisto]

Yeah, leafy greens are great. Spinach and kale in smoothies is awesome, and they're good salad greens as well. I always seem to mess up cooking spinach though, but I'd rather eat it uncooked now anyway.

 

[ABasin]

I see people talking about protein and they're definitely right. Get your protein. But don't be scared of carbs. Especially since you're thin. Everything you hear is that "carbs are the enemy". It's true that cutting them can help lose weight. In fact you can cut them out so much that your body uses fat as energy as opposed to carbs (Keto). But for you, I recommend getting your carbs and don't be scared of intake at all. If you start noticing some belly fat or anything like that it's time to re-access, but Carbohydrates are very important to building muscle and a lot of people don't realize that. So until you need to worry about gaining "bad" weight, get your carbs, fats and protein and you will grow a lot faster.

Thank you for posting this. I completely agree. Carbs are important in general, but especially for those who exercise rigorously. Too much protein-only stuff out there. I knew a guy who was overweight and went all-in on rigorous exercise plus a super hard core protein diet. Dude lost a ton of weight. And he suffered (some level of) kidney failure 2 months later.

 

[ABasin]

I'd say that if you don't have fat to burn, and you're striving for muscle mass, I would be careful about doing too much cardio. If you already do rec sports or something, a bunch of running on top is going to slow you down. What I'm saying is, if you go on a short jog or two per week, that's fine, in fact do that or a few hours of rec sports. But don't expect to work on cardio results and muscle mass at the same time unless you eat like a mad man.

I’ve done cardio and weight training at the same time for quite a few years. I’m not in ‘competitive mode’ with the cardio, but I believe there are a great many benefits to cranking up the heart rate a few times per week. Like I said, I do a minimum of 3 hours per week of cardio, and lift 3 hours per week also.

It’s actually possible to turn strength/weight training into a cardio workout, but I find both my weight levels and proper form suffer when I do that.